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Wang Xifeng
Wang Xifeng (traditional Chinese: 王熙鳳; simplified Chinese: 王熙凤; pinyin: Wáng Xīfèng) is one of the main characters in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber, and can be considered as the novel's main antagonist due to her actions that caused several severe tragedies in the book. She is portrayed by various actresses through different adaptations, with the 1987 TV series adaptation being the most famous, where she was portrayed by Deng Jie. In the 2010 TV adaptations, she is portrayed by Yao Di. Overview Xifeng is Jia Baoyu's elder cousin-in-law, young wife to Jia Lian (who is Baoyu's paternal first cousin), niece to Lady Wang. Xifeng is hence related to Baoyu both by blood and marriage. She came from one of the Four Great Families, the Wang (the other three are Jia, Shi, and Xue), and is known for her wit and intelligence, her vivacious manner, her great beauty, her multiple-faced personality and her fierce sense of fidelity. Personality An extremely beautiful and capable woman, Xifeng is hardworking, clever, humorous, conversable and, at times, vicious and cruel. Undeniably the most worldly woman in the novel, Xifeng is in charge of the daily running of the Rong Guo household, wielding remarkable economy as well as political authority within the family, acting as one of the family's administrators. Being one of the favorite assistant of Grandmother Jia, Xifeng keeps both Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia entertained with her constant jokes and amusing chatter, playing the role of the perfect filial daughter-in-law,. By pleasing and flattering Grandmother Jia, Xifeng becomes influential and rules the entire household. Nevertheless, she was disliked by Madam Xing, her step-aunt-in-law, out of pure jealousy towards the favor Xifeng won. One of the most remarkable traits of herself is the multi-faceted and complicated personalities she shown in the novel. Xifeng can be kind-hearted toward the poor and helpless. On the other hand, Xifeng can be cruel enough to kill. She is also shown to be extremely condescending and abusive towards her servants when they offended her, so she is widely feared among them. Villainous Deeds #Seducing Jia Rui and manipulated his downfall, indirectly causing his sickness, perversion and subsquent death; #Everything she did to You Erjie out of jealousy, ended with her murder by proxy: ##Incriminating You Erjie to be a slut and causing her to lose Jia Family's favor and causing her sickness; ##Hiring a quacker to give the sickly You Erjie potent medicinal potion, causing her miscarriage; ##Driving Qiutong into spreading rumors and insults to You Erjie, causing her to commit suicide. #Abuse over servants; #The massive check of Da Guanyuan, causing the exile of several maids, including Si Qi, and the death of Qingwen; #Massive loans towards lesser individuals; #Use Xue Baochai as a bridal substitude to Lin Daiyu before Jia Baoyu's marriage, unbeknownest to both Daiyu and Baoyu, directly causing Daiyu's death and the story's ultimate tragedy Notable Family Members & Related People Family *Jia Family (in-laws) **Rong Guo Household (in-laws) ***Jia Daishan (grandfather-in-law; former Duke Rong'guo) (deceased before the main story) ****Grandmother Jia (grandmother-in-law) ****Jia Zheng (uncle-in-law; Duke Rong'guo) *****Madam Wang (parental aunt; Jia Zheng's wife) ******Jia Zhu (cousin-in-law) (deceased before the main story) *******Li Wan (Jia Zhu's wife) ********Jia Lan (nephew) ******Jia Yuanchun (cousin-in-law) *******Married to the Emperor as his concubine ********''Entire royal family'' ******Jia Baoyu (cousin-in-klaw) *****Aunt Zhao (step-aunt; Jia Zheng's cocubine) ******Jia Tanchun (cousin-in-law) ******Jia Huan (cousin-in-law) ****Jia She (father-in-law) *****Unnamed first wife (mother-in-law) (deceased before the main story) *****Jia Lian (husband) ******Jia Qiaojie (daughter) (only child) *****Madam Xing (stepmother-in-law) ****Jia Min (aunt-in-law) (deceased before the main story) *****Lin Ruhai (uncle-in-law; Jia Min's husband) ******Lin Daiyu (cousin-in-law; Jia Min's daughter) **Ning Guo Household (cousins-in-laws) *Wang Family (relatives) **Unnamed parents (deceased before the main story) ***Wang Ren (brother) ***Unnamed second eldest brother *Shi Family (relative-in-laws) **The aforementioned Grandmother Jia; born in Shi Family *Xue Family (cousin family) **Aunt Xue (aunt) ***Xue Pan (cousin) ***Xue Baochai (cousin) Related people *You Erjie (love rival & victim) *Qiu Tong (love rival & presumed victim in the original draft) *Ping'Er (maid) *Granny Liu (friend) Fate Since the last chapters of Cao Xueqin's original book were lost, it is unknown what exactly happened in Cao Xueqin's original ending. Nevertheless, it can be inferred from Xifeng's prophecy poem and other clues from Zhi Yan Zhai's own comments, that Xifeng was probably divorced and abandoned by Jia Lian. After that, she presumably got imprisoned and died (or even executed) on the way to her hometown Jinling. In Cheng-Gao version, Xifeng succumbbed to illness after being pressured by her family's downfall. Before her death, she was haunted by You Erjie's vengeful spirit in dream and was later visited by Granny Liu, whom she had been kind to. On her deathbed, Xifeng pleadged Granny Liu to raise Qiaojie, her only daughter, in her stead. After Granny Liu made her promise, Xi Feng passed away. Trivia *The 1987 TV series adaptation depicts Wang Xifeng's fate much closer to that in Cao Xueqin's (presumed) original vision, with her divorced by Jia Lian before her death. *Her family had great faith in her and brought her up as a boy; in fact, the name "Xifeng" is considered masculine in her era. This accounts for her self-assuredness and straightforward ways, characteristics that do not quite fit with the traditional female role at the time. Category:Femme Fatale Category:In Love Category:Deceased Category:Tragic Category:Related to Hero Category:Extravagant Category:Extremists Category:Lawful Evil Category:Murderer Category:Conspirators Category:Mastermind Category:Big Bads Category:Parents Category:Faux Affably Evil Category:Hypocrites Category:Redeemed Category:Leader Category:Aristocrats Category:Protective Category:Elitist Category:TV Show Villains Category:Live Action Villains Category:Theatrical Villains Category:Female Category:Misandrists Category:Oppressors Category:Greedy Category:Power Hungry Category:Grey Zone Category:Status Dependent on Version Category:Paranoid Category:Strategic Category:Abusers Category:Imprisoned Category:Envious Category:Charismatic Category:Sophisticated Category:Wealthy Category:Master of Hero Category:Enforcer